Effexor and lithium?

I,m back asking for help again. It's been three weeks on my increased dose of effexor from 75mg to 150 mg and I don't go to sleep 8 p.m anymore until 2 pm next day. I go to bed "normal" time 11.30 , 12pm. My problem is I wake up in the morning feeling depressed and hang in bed normally till 12 1 pm when I start feeling better. Next week I'm seeing my gp. Do you think I should discuss another increase? Never took effexor before. Does it take longer to work than the other ads? Thank you

Responses (5)

No, it usually doesn't take longer to work. But, definitely talk to your dr about an increase. I'm on 375mg in am. I've been on it for years, however I don't mean you should go that high. Just wanted you to know that increases are done and some high. Good luck.

Hello Marcio. I was rereading your previous posts. In a nutshell, I'd explain to your doctor how and whats been happening. The lithium, I suspect might be the cause of some of your problem. Are you having your blood work done and if so on a regular basis. Thats very important as you may know. As for the effexor, its been awhile, its in your system, and you should have had some relief in regards to your depression. Your doctor should beable to make a decision, either to adjust it, or try another medication. best to you, hope that you find some answers when you meet with your gp.

I have had many experiences with anti-depressants: SNRI's and SSRI's. in my opinion, do not continue on effexor. it obviously isn't working for you and you do not want to mess with depression, as it can only get possibly worse! you may need to try a different group of medications. have you ever tried zoloft? you may want to give it a chance. SNRI's (cymbalta, strattera, wellbutrin, pristiq, effexor xr, effexor) work on serotonin and norepinephrine in the brain. you may not need your norepinephrine adjusted. SSRI's (prozac, paxil, zoloft, etc) only work on your serotonin. another older anti-depressant, Tofranil, may work for you. i have been on all of these at one time or another! Now, i have been stable a long time on 150mg of effexor xr 2x/day. another option is that you may need to add a mood stabilizer that will work with your anti-depressant such as a low dose of seroquel or abilify. check these out; talk with your doctor about your options, but definitely don't keep dragging it out with the effexor. hope this is useful information for you!

I have taken anti-depression medicine since I had my first son, fourteen years ago. First with Zoloft and then Effexor (not at the same time), I am one week into no drugs in my system and feel like there is light at the end of the tunnel. I say this because something everyone needs to understand is what the drugs do for you in the present, how long do you and your doctor think that you will be on them and finally if you are able to stop what will happen with you physically and mentally. I think if I had understood the withdrawal from Effexor I would have never taken it in the first place. It is probably one of the hardest to withdrawal from. And let me re-state this everyone is different and you HAVE TO TALK with your doctor seriously about what YOU WANT from the medicine and what it can DO FOR and and against you.

My message to anyone is basically READ and TALK with your doctor. This is your body and mind. There are consequences to anything we do in life and I hope you find an answer that works for YOU.

Just my opinion here, but I would consider increasing the Effexor before going to the extent of trying a different antidepressant. You have somewhat responded to the increase since you are going to bed later. One more increase might be all it takes. You can go up to as high as 375mg/day of the Effexor.

If your doctor does decide to try a different antidepressant, you'll need to taper off the Effexor while slowly starting the new antidepressant so to avoid any withdrawal symptoms. I take Pristiq which is very similar to Effexor with great results. I went from sleeping 12 to 14 hours a night to just the normal 8 when I started on the Pristiq.

Hang in there Marcio. Finding the right combination of meds is a trial and error sort of ordeal as what works for one won't for another. It took me years to find the right combo, but once you do I promise you will feel better.

We are here to help, do keep in touch and let us know how you are progressing,

Hello Laurie, I've just left the doc and asked to be increased to 225mg. I first told him how I was feeling and he said he would try effexor xr. The same dosage. Then I mentioned that I read on Internet that effexor only works on serotonin and noradrenaline at 225mg. He said he didn't know and would take my word for it. So, here I go on 225mg effexor for a month. Hope it helps. I would really appreciate your comment. Thank you.

You are correct in that Effexor only acts on two of the neurotransmitters, serotonin and norepinephrine. The only other neurotransmitter to consider as far as depression would be dopamine. Wellbutrin is the only antidepressant that works on dopamine. Anyway, the increase in Effexor may well do the job. You'll just have to give it the month to see. If you haven't found that it does the job at 225mgs, you can always increase again or try adding Wellbutrin. The doctor should really know abou this stuff, wonder why he said that he would take your word for it? Strange.

I know this is frustrating having to wait to see if a med is going to work. Unfortunately, it is a wait and see sort of deal. Hang in there!!

the mood stabilizer abilify also acts on dopamine. it is often used along with an antidepressant to increase the effects of it. I am on 300mg of effexor xr and take 5mg of abilify with it and it has changed my whole perspective. so that's just another idea...

It does not take longer to work. You do not want to increase your dose of effexor either, my doctor has had to lower my dose to effexor and add temaxopam 30mg to my meds to get sleep, it is better but not what I used to be. We are currently working on coming off effexor and using something else, not sure what yet but effexor has to go due to sleep issues.Good luck to youSam